- ASSESS THE SCHOOL/COMMUNITY CLIMATE
- The severity and frequency of bullying
- Where and when bullying occurs
- How students feel about reporting information about bullying to adults, and how they feel about other students who report such information
- How wrong they and their peers think certain behaviors are
- How comfortable they are interacting with kids from different racial/ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- The percent of teachers and other staff who say bullying is noticed, openly talked about and not tolerated in the school — and the percent of students who say so
- The percent of teachers who say school rules related to conduct and behavior are consistently and fairly enforced — and the percent of students who say so
- The percent of adults surveyed who think cyberbullying is a pervasive problem — and the percent of students who think so.
An anonymous questionnaire given to students is a unique tool for probing into the social climate of the school that is typically visible only to them. It can yield vital information about:
At the same time, a similar questionnaire given to teachers and other school staff will shed light on the extent to which adults’ and kids’ perceptions, behaviors and experiences with regard to bullying differ. The results of the two surveys will allow you to compare, for example:
| A School/Community Climate Snapshot can be used to summarize survey findings, and get the discussion started about the extent to which bullying is a problem in your school and community – and what to do about it. |
Also recommended are a survey of (1) staff members of local youth-serving organizations and (2) young people involved in programs sponsored by tthose organizations. The results will provide valuable information about where, when and what kind of bullying occurs in nonschool settings in the community.
Administered at the start of each school year and again in the spring, these climate surveys are a versatile tool for informing, guiding and monitoring the progress of school/community bullying prevention efforts.
- Following are links to a set of climate surveys used by the schools, districts, nonprofit organizations and community agencies participating in The Colorado Trust’s Bullying Prevention Initiative. These templates can be used as is, or customized to take into account varying needs and circumstances.
PLEASE NOTE that The Colorado Trust grants permission for interested parties to administer the Community Survey and/or the Youth Survey, with the notation that The Colorado Trust owns copyright of the survey tool. You do not need to request permission to use this tool as long as you make certain to include the copyright language.
- Community Survey/Youth
- School Survey/Students in Grades 5, 8 and 11
- Community Survey/Staff
- School Survey/Teachers and Other Staff